The Washington Post: Homeowners associations fighting back in Virginia legislature

(Bill would allow HOAs to charge fines not in declarations)

February 17, 2014 — By Rachel Weiner

Virginia’s legislature is poised to pass a bill that would allow homeowners associations to charge fines not laid out in their declarations. A homeowners association in Fairfax County recently lost a long legal battle with two residents, Sam and Maria Farran, who protested a fine over an Obama campaign sign in their front yard. The association went bankrupt. In 2012, a Fairfax condominium association lost a similar case in the Virginia Supreme Court.

On Monday, a Senate committee approved a bill that would allow such fines for violations of an association’s rules as long as the declaration does not explicitly ban them. Under another, such fines are limited to $10 each day of a violation for 90 days or a one-time $50 charge. The bill would require that “a reasonable opportunity” to correct the violation be given as well as a hearing before the association board. Read more:

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